Located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, on the southern side of Commercial Road, close to the junction with Whitechapel High Street. Otherwise known as the financial heart of London with it its excellent public transport links, making it an ideal location for employment growth, new home, education, culture and tourism.
Whilst the site itself is not in a Conservation Area, the Whitechapel High Street Conservation Area lies to the north of the site. The dilapidated existing building does not fit in with either its lofty neighbours or the nearby conservation area and the three storey Grade II listed building at 32-34 Commercial Road. The existing building was originally in a poor state of repair with major structural problems that needed to be resolved.
30B commercial Road is a four-storey brick building with a basement below and is arranged as a ground floor retail unit with ancillary retail and storage accommodation to the basement and upper parts (first – third floor), constructed circa 1900. The property would have originally sat within a terrace of similar commercial units, however the buildings to either side of 30B have been demolished.
The original design included a route through to Buckle Street. This has been replaced with a ground floor retail unit with storage in the basement and now provides an active frontage on Commercial Road.
The updated design is two storeys lower to respect the listed building at 32 and 34 commercial Road. The new design forms part of a sharp stepping down from the adjoining 22 storey building which forms part of the Aldgate Place development.
A stairlift has been added between ground and first floors. This ensures that there are means of access or escape for the wheelchair accessible unit on the first floor. This would act as a backup to the main lift if the lift were out of order or in the event of fire. If required, the stairlift could be extended to serve all floors.
